8.30pm update

Muslims in Pakistan denounce attacks

Some of Pakistan's most influential Muslims swiftly denounced US attacks on Afghanistan's capital tonight, calling them an attack against Islam and grounds for holy war.

One organisation summoned Muslims to "extend full support to their Afghan brothers."

Pakistan's government, which has thrown its support behind the US-led coalition against terrorism, said it regretted that diplomatic efforts did not succeed and called for the US action to remain "clearly targeted".

In Chaman, vehicles carrying Pakistani soldiers could be seen heading for the Afghan border. The influential and Taliban-sympathetic Afghan defence council, based in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, issued a call for "jihad," or holy war.

The council comprises more than 30 religious and militant groups.

"It is the duty of every Muslim to support their brothers in this critical hour," said the Muslim leader, Riaz Durana. "We will support the Taliban physically and morally against the aggression of America."

Munawar Hassan, the deputy chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's most powerful religious political party, called the strikes on the capital, Kabul, "an attack against Islam".

Both President Bush and Tony Blair have sought to emphasise that the west have no quarrel with Islam, only with terrorists and those who harbour them. Mr Hassan warned of "serious backlash" within Pakistan's military against the Pakistani leader, General Pervez Musharraf.

"The Pakistan army does not agree with Musharraf," he said, calling for protest rallies across the nation. Mr Musharraf's decision to support the US-led coalition has angered some Pakistanis. Condemnation also came from the militant group Haraka ul-Mujahedeen.

"Americans have used their might to kill innocent people in Afghanistan instead of targeting training camps about which they were talking and making a hue and cry," said Amar Mehdi, a spokesman for the group, which advocates the independence of Indian-ruled Kashmir.

There was no immediate indication of any casualties when he spoke. Haraka ul-Mujahedeen is among the organisations whose assets were frozen by the US, Pakistan and other countries as part of a campaign against movements linked to Osama bin Laden.

Pakistan's foreign office implored the US to take "every care to minimise harm to Afghan citizens buffeted by years of war. We also hope that the operations will end soon and a concerted international effort will be undertaken to promote national reconciliation and help Afghanistan with economic reconstruction."